Make Way for The Queen: Local Coffee Roasters Launching Vint Hill Coffee

Vint Hill Village, LLC leadership, shortly after investing in the former U.S. Army installation and announcing plans to enhance it, developed an online survey to collect feedback about how the public envisioned the community’s future. When asked what they most wanted to see in Vint Hill, an overwhelming majority of respondents agreed: a coffee shop.

With Vint Hill Coffee now open for business, the local community is getting its wish.

“We scouted all over Northern Virginia to find the best location,” said Lori D’Amico, one half of the husband-and-wife duo behind the new coffee shop. “We finally bought a house out here, and that’s when we got to know Ed Moore and the whole Vint Hill community. Everyone agreed it would be a great location for our coffee shop.”

D’Amico and husband Chris Keen are coffee veterans. They opened The Queen’s Bean, a wholesale coffee distributor, in 2012 in Stafford, Virginia, and quickly got to work experimenting with their own menu.

“One of our signature coffees is called Monticello Orange,” said Keen. “It’s an all-natural orange product that we infuse in the coffee beans. It’s delicious. We have a lot of people asking for it.”

D’Amico and Keen acquired their business concept and some of their client base when the opportunity arose to take over another coffee manufacturer. The Queen’s Bean distributes coffee to Virginia B&Bs that enjoy visitors from all over the country. While B&B customers sipped their morning coffee, they saw displays of The Queen’s Bean one-pound coffee bags and became repeat customers. The Queen’s Bean distributes coffee nationwide through its online store—and will continue to serve customers beyond Vint Hill.

“We have a definite passion for coffee,” said D’Amico. “I used to be a chemist for the cosmetic industry, which I was also passionate about. I said, ‘If I’m not making one of my loves, why not make the other?’ I like being a product manufacturer; I like being a maker of things.”

It only took a few Google searches to find Vint Hill’s online poll, and it gave the couple the confirmation they needed that it was their destiny to locate here. D’Amico and Keen moved from Arlington to Vint Hill in 2015.

“When we saw the online poll, it was a resounding ‘Yes—please give us coffee!’” said D’Amico.

The shop’s coffee is made from beans sourced from various farms around the world and roasted on-site with a Diedrich IR-12 Roaster. Their Vint Hill location will also serve the community with a café-style atmosphere, complete with complimentary WiFi, coffee house décor and music, and baked goods by local bakeries and cafes. Discounts will be extended to service personnel, including law enforcement, active military and veterans, and EMTs.

The menu will range from espresso brewed with a La Marzocco machine and cold brews to sweeter coffee options and Honest Kids drinks for children. While D’Amico and Keen’s focus has shifted to brewing, the duo will retail their beans in the shop, selling whole and ground variations in 1-pound bags. Wholesale distribution will continue to local bed and breakfasts as well as the nearby cafes and restaurants within the county.

Vint Hill Coffee is located at 4257 Aiken Drive, on a block that includes a barbershop, credit union, and post office.

“There’s a lot of room for growth for us here,” said Keen. “With the new houses being built and the goal of making this a live-work-play area, a coffee shop is definitely a part of that.”

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About The Queen’s Bean (Vint Hill Coffee): The Queen’s Bean was founded in 2012 by Lori and Christopher Keen. In the spring of 2016, The Queen’s Bean will transition from a wholesale distribution warehouse into a retail coffee shop. At Vint Hill Coffee, all raw coffee beans are sourced from various farms around the world and roasted on site. To learn more, visit the website or call (540) 907-8930.